Chosen One
by pradaloz
Summary: Link does his thing. Character Study


**Title:** Chosen One  
**Feedback to:** pradaloz00 at yahoo dot com  
**Classification:** Character study  
**Rating:** R  
**Summary:** Link does his thing.  
**Disclaimer:** All of the characters used herein are the creations and property of Nintendo. The author is not receiving any monetary compensation for this work.  
**A/N: **My fanon ate your fanon for breakfast. No, wait. My fanon ate Fruit Loops for breakfast. Whatever.

It screamed, it howled, it danced and it writhed. Larger than life and brighter than the sun, the demon threw itself against its magic restraints beneath a desert sky as black and hard as obsidian. Trapped as it was within the bounds of the conjuring fire, its efforts were as futile as its rage was overpowering-Link could feel its fury from where he stood. And the power within him stirred.

A shape slid across his vision, the silhouette of the power that had summoned the demon to its execution. She looked deceptively ordinary, clad as she was in nothing more than shift and sandals. Nights in the canyon were frigid, but between the heat of the fire and the early evening festivities, neither of them had seen any reason to get fully dressed again. Besides, Link reasoned, it would only make it easier to get the late evening festivities started once he'd dealt with the monster.

The princess moved towards him, and back of his hand burned in sympathy when he saw the glow of the Triforce on her own. Its light blazed in stark contrast to the blackness of the blood on her palms--Shadow and Spirit, fed to the Fire. His eyes returned to the caged beast and a sense of bemused superiority spread through him.

_She's got you, you poor bastard,_ he thought as a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist. _She's got you, and now you're going to die._

"What do you think?" Zelda asked, resting her chin on his shoulder to study her work.

"Very nice."

"Isn't it?"

"It is. Impressive, too."

"I'm glad you think so."

Her body swayed against his in time to the magic she had composed. It was hypnotic, the way she moved, the way she felt, and only with great effort was he able to return his attention to the creature she had summoned. As demons went, it was fairly small. While mostly fangs and claws, it was hardly as threatening as many of the others he had faced in the past when he'd been nothing but a stupid, clumsy kid--when he'd had only the barest notion of what he was capable. This creature might mean death to the citizenry, but to the power, it was nothing.

_A bot on the vast plains. A gel on the sole of my boot. A lonely keese hanging from the rafters of an abandoned temple. An itsy-bitsy deel--_

"I don't like," her voice interrupted his thoughts, "how this thing thinks it can keep popping in and out of its own realm and terrorize _my_ kingdom."

He snickered. "The disrespect shown Hyrule's princess is shocking."

"Incredibly so."

"And for that reason alone, it must die."

Her sigh was long and expressive. "Its very existence impugns my honor. It's quite upsetting."

"Well, don't worry. I'll take care of our baby-eating friend."

"To be fair, he's yet to _eat_ anything."

"But in theory..."

"In theory."

He didn't move, and she didn't let go. Her palms were warm and wet against his skin, and he wondered briefly if the wounds shouldn't have closed by now. Eventually, she lifted her head so he could feel her breath on the side of his face.

"I could," she murmured," destroy it. Now." Her lips branded the words on his ear as her fingers painted bloody runes on his chest. "Give us the whole night."

He thought about it. Thought of her beneath him on the ground, face flushed and skin glowing in the light of a dying demon as he forced his name from her the most expedient way he knew how. He thought about it, and then he thought that heroes shouldn't let their adversaries die without having the chance to fight.

Besides, he wanted to play.

"No," he said and chuckled when she huffed in disappointment. "Can you honestly tell me," he asked, rolling his head back to look at her, "that you've got somewhere better to be?"

Her smile was vicious. "Bastard."

"But a right one."

"In both senses of the word," she said as she pulled away from him and dispensed of her spell with a casual wave.

There was a flash of heat from where the barrier had once been, a searing chill where her hands no longer were, and he had just enough time to give her a mocking bow before the demon shrieked and leapt at him. Almost twenty years of facing all manner of beasts, and Link had yet to understand why they always threw themselves into the air straightaway. It was a poor strategy, really; it gave him plenty of time to see where his opponent was headed and then, very calmly, take one step out of the way.

The demon shot past him, its claws ripping through the air where he'd been standing, and skittered to a stop when it realized it had missed its target entirely. Now that he had a chance to look at it free of its bonds, Link could see that it had more than the usual allotment of limbs, which perhaps explained why it took so long for it to reorganize itself and turn around.

"Right here," he called, twisting his wrist so the firelight flashed off of his sword--just in case the demon was having trouble finding him in the dark.

Vivid yellow eyes--not unlike Ganondorf's, now that he thought about it--met Link's own, and he felt that old familiar rush of adrenaline blaze through him as the demon rushed him again.

This time, the Hero of Time stayed put.

One swing blocked a clawed hand, a second sliced off another, a third distracted the beast long enough for him to slide out of range of its teeth--the moves were as familiar as they were exhilarating. He could have fought this one in his sleep, but then he wouldn't have wanted to. Why miss out on all the fun? Dimly, he felt something burn across his arm--the bastard had _gotten_ him, Din damn it--and made one final swing across what he assumed was the beast's stomach.

As it collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony, a small corner of Link's mind wondered when, exactly, eviscerations had ceased to impress him. Another wondered if perhaps his nonchalance ought to worry him. He decided not to pursue either thought and instead looked down at the creature with no small amount of pity. "You shouldn't have come here," he told it and thrust his sword into its throat, releasing a burst of light brighter than the sun.

Then it was gone, and there nothing but the fire, the sky, and the sound of two hands clapping.

"That was fun," he said, turning around to see her move out of the shadows.

"It certainly looked like it."

"And?"

Zelda was beside him now, reaching up to touch his shoulder. "And yes, I am impressed."

"As well you should be."

Her fingers trailed down his arm, the back of her hand still glowing, and came to rest right above the spot where the demon's claws had scored him.

"Looks like it got you," she said, and prodded the wound for emphasis.

It didn't hurt much, but Link wasn't a fan of pain in any form, and he didn't appreciate her efforts to make it worse. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her against him in one sharp move. Bemusement quickly replaced surprise in her eyes as he lowered his face to hers and warned, "Play nice, princess."

In answer, she bared her throat to him, and he ran his teeth along its length, relishing her surrender. Tomorrow, he'd crawl naked from the canyon to the Spirit Temple if she asked, but tonight she was _his_, to do with as _he_ saw fit, no matter how temporary her submission might be. Within her gaze he could see the power to alter reality and re-write time, and the sight was far more exhilarating than toying with a puny demon could ever be. "All mine," he said in a singsong voice and grinned when he felt her shake with laughter.

Her eyes were as sharp and bright as steel in the starlight. "For now."

And with those words, he realized as he kissed her with a fierceness that only she could match, all the world was his. If only for now.

**End.**

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